Greg Coleman Connects AOL's Dots

Those who thought that AOL’s recent hire of Greg Coleman as president of Platform-A meant the company was ditching its technology-centric, mega ad network persona and shifting all the way back to a traditional brand sales machine, think again.Over the past seven weeks since he was hired (during which time his boss has already been replaced), Coleman has aggressively made his imprint on AOL’s sales organization, dropping several divisions, firing some executives and promoting others. Over the next several weeks, expect more changes as Coleman, who replaced former Platform-A president Lynda Clarizio back in February, radically shifts the company’s strategy away from that of the previous administration, with the blessing of new AOL CEO Tim Armstrong.Specifically, Coleman is planning to centralize AOL’s ad sales efforts so that every seller is versed in selling all of Platform-A’s performance-based assets, as well as AOL’s owned-and-operated properties. That’s despite an admitted risk that Platform-A, particularly Advertising.com, has the potential to devalue AOL’s own sites, which include the growing number of minibrands grouped under the header MediaGlow. In addition, Coleman is planning to bring on more senior talent, including talent from the traditional media world (as well as a seasoned research exec) to bolster AOL’s marketplace clout. With MediaGlow, Coleman plans to have his team bundle the company’s 70-plus properties and sell audiences, rather than emphasizing individual brands as was done in the recent past. (He’s already broken up an internal group of 22 staffers who were focused almost solely on pitching MediaGlow brands to AOL’s sales execs.) That bundling tactic also carries risk, as AOL is still trying to establish premium value for many of these fledgling properties (see sidebar on following page).Many media buyers were betting that Coleman would split AOL sales down the middle, first creating a smaller “inside” sales group that focused on targeting smaller, pure performance advertisers. Then Coleman, former evp of global sales at Yahoo, who also logged sales stints at Women’s Day and Reader’s Digest, would tap into his vast Rolodex and start lunching with the Cokes and McDonald’s, focusing entirely on selling AOL’s top sites to Fortune 1000 advertisers. Coleman is quick to dismiss this anti-technology rep, pointing out that at Yahoo he helped integrate the display and search sides of the business.In fact, he’s convinced that AOL’s strength lies in its ability to answer advertisers’ every need by using data and technology, and that the problem with the Platform-A structure is that it never delivered what it promised. “We had all the assets, but the full integration never happened,” says Coleman, in an exclusive interview with Mediaweek. “When I got here, I asked for a work plan [on integration] and there was none. We didn’t have any integration, we had a smush. They did [however] create something that is really valuable. Most of my time is going to be spent on actualizing the vision.”Many in the online ad world believe that AOL lost that vision when it bet heavily on the ad network business with the formation of Platform-A (which includes the assets of Advertising.com, Tacoda, Third Screen Media and others) in ’07. “It was such a quantum shift,” says Amanda Richman, svp, director of digital, MediaVest USA. “AOL lost some of its strength in creating content and experiences. Content was always part of their DNA.”Coleman doesn’t deny that AOL’s image has become tarnished. “It is safe to say that there were a series of management changes over the last few years that created some instability, and the strategy du jour knocked us out of the game to a large degree.”In laying out his vision for AOL sales going forward, Coleman drew a messy chart with a series of boxes representing various segments of the AOL business (though, curiously, Bebo is hardly mentioned) and a series of crossing arrows. All the arrows pointed to a smiley face meant to represent a happy advertiser.“The market is shifting to become far more performance driven,” he says. Even for branding advertisers. “Clients now are not interested in having five different people call them. They want both brand and performance [from one person]. Right now, a holistic solution is the only way to go, and yes, it’s tough.” To wit, Coleman is implementing formal sales training for his entire staff. That will mean undoing previous allegiances. “A sales person who came from Ad.com who has 20 accounts, their mindset is much more performance-based. They’re [naturally] going to lead with that. And vice versa for brand sellers. That’s where training will be key.”Holistic sounds great in theory, but carries pitfalls, according to Margaret Clerkin, CEO, North America, MindShare Interaction. “You have to be careful,” she says. “Nobody has enough time to schedule meetings with three sets of sales people. But if you integrate everything, you dilute the value of a specialist.” Ed Montes, evp, managing director, Havas Digital also predicted that a holistic approach may make it difficult for AOL to maintain pricing on its most valuable assets if advertisers are always presented the option to purchase low-cost remnant avails. “They have to believe their sites are premium sites,” he says. “And they have to maintain margins.”Coleman admits his team might have to take some hits on price early on, particularly in this brutal economy. But he does not plan to stagger commissions so that sales people are incented to sell one property over another, as some have expected. “Let’s also face the fact that in this marketplace today, the advertiser is being seduced with all kinds of deals and opportunities,” he says. “We want to be competitive also. I’m not afraid to say that.”On the pricing side, Coleman believes it’s going to be an interesting straddle. “It may be more profitable for me to have everybody just run brand advertising on AOL’s owned-and-operated sites. But if we start to say to marketers that we need to emphasize that because it’s good for our pocket—we will lose. “I need to understand the objectives of that marketer and serve up what works for them. That’s how you win.”

Performance Marketing

Greg Coleman Connects AOL's Dots

Mike Shields

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Mike Shields